Dear Subscriber

Welcome to the Wade Trade News import-export bulletin for August 2009. The aim of our free monthly bulletin is to bring you some carefully selected leads and news you can use in these tricky economic times. This month we have good news - and some handy websites you will find really useful - if you want to trade with Brazil, Australia, Singapore, China, South Korea and other countries right across Asia. It's well worth taking a few minutes to read this bulletin .... you could find something that will help you make money!

Brazil Export Trade Booming
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Despite the world recession, Brazil's export trade is booming - according to recent figures from the Ministry of Agriculture. Brazil exported US$31.4 billion of agricultural products in the first six months of 2009. Exports in June alone reached US$7.3 billion - a 12% rise over June last year. Brazil's largest export buyers were Asian countries (27%), China (17%), Netherlands (7.6%), USA (7%), Russia (4.4%) and Germany (4.1%). Looked at overall, Asian countries surpassed European Union countries in terms of purchases from Brazil for the first time ever.

Good South American trade websites are difficult to find, but here's a VERY promising one: BrazilTradeNet is the trade promotion portal of Brazil's Ministry of External Relations. It is a comprehensive trade information network, created with the aim of stimulating Brazilian exports and attracting foreign direct investment to Brazil. Recommended, take a look: www.braziltradenet.gov.br

Singapore Economy Grows 20.4% !
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Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) has announced that the country's real GDP rose by 20.4% in the second quarter of 2009 compared to the first quarter of the year. The second quarter performance is a major reversal from the 12.7% contraction in GDP experienced in the previous quarter, the MTI said. However, they also forecast that the country's economy is likely to contract by between 4% and 6% in 2009 - this being an improvement from the fall of between 6% and 9% forecast in April. The MTI - who have a very useful website at www.mti.gov.sg - said that the improvement in economic performance has mainly been due to a rise in Singapore's biomechanical manufacturing output.

South Korea And EU To Have Free Trade Agreement
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The European Union (EU) will sign a free trade agreement (FTA) with South Korea later this year - the Swedish Prime Minister Frederik Reinfeldt announced recently. However, Reinfeldt said that EU members would still need to have further talks on the actual details of the deal. He said: "The finalisation of the agreement will follow during the Swedish EU presidency. There might still be some outstanding questions, and we need to follow up on them before we could say that it's absolutely all clear and all ready to sign." South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak said that the new FTA will benefit both sides and, in addition, help counter the threat of global protectionism. He said: "The free trade agreement will bring benefits for us. It will create more opportunities and growth in exports for South Korea and the EU at a time of economic recession."

Under the agreement, South Korea's exports are expected to increase by US$11 billion and gross domestic product (GDP) by 3%. The EU is already South Korea's second largest trading partner after China, with bilateral trade reaching more than US$90 billion.

There are lots of South Korea trade directories out there, but here's a fairly useful one: South Korea Trade Directory at www.southkoreapages.com  It lists South Korean manufacturers, exporters, importers, dealers, distributors, buying agents, traders, wholesalers, brokers, retailers, department stores, chain stores and suppliers.

Chinese Imports Of Luxury Cars Rising
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Despite the world recession China still represents a major opportunity for exporting luxury cars. According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), Mercedes Benz sold 27,000 cars in the first half of the year, up 50% over the first half of last year. Sales of Audi's rose 28% year on year to 13,077 cars last month, making it the company's best June in China on record. Audi sold 66,131 cars in the first half, up 10.4 % year on year, and amounting to 40% of the luxury car market. In June, sales of BMW and Mini vehicles rose by 4% to 8,506 cars compared to the same month last year. Sales of BMW and Mini together grew by 24% to 37,627 cars across the first half of the year. The CAAM website at www.china786.com/auto/ has useful information about the Chinese motor market.

Find Australian Exporters Easily
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For importers in the US, UK, EU and other countries with strong currencies Australian prices are comparatively low right now - making trade with Australian exporting companies an appealing option. Currently Australia has free trade agreements (FTA's) with the United States, Thailand and Singapore as well as a closer economic relations agreement with New Zealand and a trade and investment

framework with Indonesia. The Australian government is also currently in negotiations with a number of other countries in order to provide importers in those counties and Australian exporters with an easier, less restricted trading environment. The very useful Australian Exporters website lists the contact details, products and services of more than 7,000 Australian exporting companies with a handy search tool to help you find exactly what you're looking for, either by product, industry or company name. Well worth taking a look - www.australianexporters.net

Help If You're Doing Business In Asia
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The Asia-Pacific Council of American Chambers of Commerce (APCAC) was founded in 1968. Through 25 independent member AmChams located in 19 economies of the Asia-Pacific Region, APCAC represents the growing interests of over 10,000 businesses and over 50,000 business executives in the region. APCAC members handle trade volumes in excess of US$400 billion and direct investments (FDI) of over US$200 billion. On the website at www.apac.org there's detailed contact information for APCAC Member AmChams and details of events and meetings held by each member. There are local chamber contacts for Bangladesh, Cambodia, China (several chambers), Macau, Guam, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taipei, Thailand and Vietnam.

More Useful Links
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That's all for this month .... we'll be back to you in September with more helpful news and tips. Meanwhile, if you need more help or information on the products Wade World Trade has for you, including our seminars and courses, just visit our site at www.wadetrade.com. Look forward to seeing you there!

Until next month,

 

 

Mark Hempshell
Editor